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It seems like every time we go to Saudi German there is a discount of prices, but a doctor informed me this week that there is a sale I guess for Mother’s Day (they celebrate it in March I think in many Arab countries). I think that he said the prices were good for the whole month though.

MRIs are normally around $150 (30,000)and he said when they “go on sale” (he didn’t use those exact words), it can be as low as 17,000 riyals.

Recently a children’s ped appointment was 800 riyals (4 dollars). Most of the times we have been the appointment was between that and 1500 riyals.

On another note, in case this applies to you, the doctor (pediatrician) said that they were equipped to handle cases such as Cerebral Palsy.

Unlike in the US, grocery stores typically do not sell medicine other than maybe pain pills or a stomach medicine, here and there.

Like the itasaalat, maktabahs, and baqaalun, saydaliyyahs are not hard to find; here, they go one better than “there’s one on every corner.” You will find several on any given, well traveled street.

What’s a saydaliyyah like?

The saydaliyyahs range in size from a small room to the size of maybe a small convenience store, most are on the small side, though.

How does a saydaliyyah work?

You can get a prescription from a doctor (tabeeb, doktoor) or just walk in and ask for something.

If your family member is hospitalized, you will probably have to go to a saydaliyyah to get the prescription filled yourself. The hospital shoudl have its own saydaliyyah, but they might be out of, or not carry, what you need, so be prepared to go off hospital grounds to get it, though typically there will be saydaliyyahs not to far (within walking distance) of the hospital (mus-tash-fa).

All the saydaliyyahs I have been to have had a counter that extends across the width of the store so you have to request what you need.

Sometimes you can tell the pharmacist your problem and he can recommend something.

I was asked on a Damaaj post which was still posted on my homeschooling site, whether or not we had experienced any cases personally with malaria or tuberculosis while in Damaaj.

No, alhamdulillah, no problems with those two diseases for us while we were there. I did here of someone with Yellow Fever, and a few I think with Hepatitis B.

Our only medical problem that we had there was (and I am not sure of the name for it, though I have come across it, it may be “Myiasis”) was that “bugs” (I thought it was flies, but am not sure) may land on open cuts and lay their eggs in there. My stepson, at age four months, had this happen to him and I had heard of another case of this while we were there. He had a hard, red bump on his chest. My husband knew what it was right away as I think he had heard of someone with this problem and he took him to the clinic there.

He said that the doctor extracted a white wormlike “creature” that was the width of his pinky finger!
My oldest two children both had a round, crusty bump both on their knees. But we just kind of poked around and put peroxide on it and it seemed to be the end of them (I am not advocating this though, it is best to go to the doctor, Allahu ilm).

Related………………

Malaria

I did come across this article in the Yemen Times which stated that 60% of the Yemeni population is at risk for Malaria:

“Recently, Yemen is subjected to many diseases and epidemics attack such as dengue fever, polio, and hepatitis. However, Malaria was and is still the biggest health challenge in Yemen. Dr. Mohammed Alnumi, Yemeni health minister, has revealed that 60 percent of Yemeni population at risk of Malaria, according to the last population statistics in last December, which estimated the population of Yemen to be around 19.7 million. ”

Malaria is a chronic disease caused by parasites and spread through the bite of the female Anopheles Mosquito. This disease characterized by chills, shaking, and periodic bouts of intense fever. In recent years, malaria has become more difficult to control and treat because malaria parasites have become resistant to drugs, and mosquitoes that transmit the disease have become resistant to insecticides.

Alhamdulillah, we just got over 4 cases of chicken pox in our household.

In case you need to know what chicken pox is in Arabic: judayri or judari.

Alhamdulillah, we didn’t need to go to the doctor. We just used calamine lotion (the brand I have seen here is called “Calamyl.” The pharmacist on the corner knew about oatmeal bath and was trying to get us some, but we never got it. Towards the end, I ground up some oatmeal, trying to make it colloidal, but never got around to using it. I also gave a few of them a green tea bath, which they loved. (I read about this online). Not sure if it really worked, but t hey loved it because they normally take showers, so to soak in the water was fun for them. I just used tea bags and had quite a mess to clean up.

One pharmacy, a really nice big one, upon my telling them my kids had chicken pox, told me that it was better for me to go to the doctor. Well, having had two other children years ago have chicken pox, I knew that normally, by Allah, they aren’t serious, though they can be for some individuals. I kept asking for a treatment and they refused to get me anything, just kept saying “it’s better to go to the doctor.” Frustrated, I just walked out and went elsewhere. Not that that wasn’t good advice, but I felt at the time, unnecessary. Plus, doctors offices have sick children. I did not want to expose my kids to possibly something worse just to cure something that normally isn’t serious.

I’ve had baby #7 (the second born in Yemen (the first was born at home)) last week, alhamdulillah. I had her at Modern German hospital and masha Allah, it was a good experience overall. The doctor could have been a little more patient friendly, but the nurse was great. They keep you 2-3 hours there after the delivery. the cost was somewhere between 26,000 riyals and 29,000 (can’t remember) and then you pay for lab work and meds (pain reliever, etc).

On another note, I am experiencing major computer problems so if you have left a comment, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible, but there may be a delay………………………………..